We'd be surprised if Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Human Resources Officer, Tracy Platt, recently sold US$447k worth of stock at US$4.65 per share. Equally important, that sale actually reduced their holding by a full 100% which hardly makes us feel bullish about the stock.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Newell Brands

In fact, the recent sale by Tracy Platt was the biggest sale of Newell Brands shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$4.45. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

Newell Brands insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Newell Brands better if I see some big insider buys.

Does Newell Brands Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Newell Brands insiders own 1.4% of the company, worth about US$28m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Newell Brands Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Newell Brands stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Newell Brands has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Newell Brands may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.